


We are the Fire

by ASongforWolves



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order (Video Game)
Genre: Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Trauma, master and padawan relationship (Platonic), redemption arc
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:33:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27211270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ASongforWolves/pseuds/ASongforWolves
Summary: When Cal is rescued by Cere and Greez, he meets another Jedi Padawan...
Relationships: Cal Kestis/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been playing with this idea for a while, may or may not continue. Let me know what you think.

Talia had wanted to fight, but Cere had insisted she wasn't ready. Grinding her teeth in frustration, she turned to look at the boy they had rescued, searching for anything familiar about him. No. She'd never met him. 

He was about her age, tall, with red hair and green eyes. Handsome enough, she supposed. Not that she cared.

"What's the bounty on Jedi these days anyways?" The boy asked.

"That's gratitude for you." Greez scoffed.

"Look, I get it." The woman who had called herself Cere said, approaching Cal. "You've been surviving on your own for so long, it's impossible to trust anyone else."

She smiled wryly. "Talia was the same, when I met her."

Cal's gaze shifted to the teenager by the woman's side. She was certainly eye-catching, with snow-white hair, and eyes like blue kyber crystals.

"It's what kept you alive." Cere went on. "But this is about more than just surviving."

"Like what?" Cal demanded.

"Like rebuilding the Jedi Order."

Cal froze at her words. Looked around.

"You three?" He asked. "Anyone else?"

"What? We're not good enough for you?" Greez demanded. Cal ignored him.

"The Jedi council."

"Gone." It was the girl, Talia, who spoke now, her blue eyes fixing on Cal's.

"Oh." Cal sighed. "So I'm all you've got."

"Not quite." Cere smiled. "Talia is also a Jedi."

Cal looked back at the white-haired girl, surprised. She merely raised an eyebrow.

"Captain." Cere went on. "Set a course for Bogano."

Greez frowned. "Aye-aye." He said, after a pause.

"In the mean time, try to relax." Cere suggested. "You're safe. For now."

And then she followed Greez, leaving Cal with Talia.

"The hope of the Jedi." The girl said dryly. "Us. A pair of teenagers. Perhaps the Sith will laugh to death." When he only looked at her, she shrugged. "A poor attempt at humor."

"Ah. I see." Cal said awkwardly.

"How old were you, during the fall?" Talia asked.

"Twelve." Cal replied.

"Same as me, then." She noted, and shrugged. "I guess you're one of us now." She said, and headed into the cockpit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cal and Talia have a discussion

Talia had stayed put for mealtime, which was new for her. Usually, when it was time to eat, the girl would take her ration, and withdraw to her bunk, to eat alone.

Cere was pleasantly surprised by the development, but said nothing. 

She’d first met the girl when Talia was a padawan, during a conversation with her master. Cere had barely recognized her when they’d found her, just barely a year prior.

_They had gone to Fest for supplies, parts for the Mantis._

_It had been a hoarse, painful sounding cough that drew Cere’s attention to one of the side alleys._

_Following the sound, Cere had found a painfully thin young woman doubled over, coughing up blood._

_She’d seemed familiar, the white hair, the bright blue eyes._

_It had been a knife in the heart to place her. Talia Darkdust, a jedi Padawan she’d met several years earlier._

_The girl had been ten years old at the time, bubbling with delight and enthusiasm, eyes full of excitement as she’d insistently tugged her master’s sleeve to show him the backflip she’d mastered._

_How much those eyes had changed now, was all Cere could think when they fixed on her, still shockingly blue, but full of anger, fear, and pain._

_Not a shred of that innocent child she had once met._

_“Talia?” Cere had asked her, watching as those blue eyes narrowed with distrust. “Do you remember me?”_

_For a moment, she’d stayed silent. Then, in a broken, painful rasp of a voice. “Yes. I remember you, Cere Junda.”_

_Then she’d started coughing again, thin sides heaving, vocal cords straining painfully. The girl had spat blood into the snow, sitting under an old crate, breathing ragged and labored._

_It had taken Cere that long to realize that this was where Talia lived._

_“Talia. Let me help you.”_

_“I don’t need your help.”_

_“You’re sick.”_

_“It will pass.” The girl snapped, reminding Cere all too much of a wounded animal._

_“You and I both know it won’t.” Cere kept her voice gentle._

_It had taken another hour to convince the girl to come with her._

_It had been painful to realize how much effort it took Talia to get up and walk the short distance to the Mantis. To see just how severe the chest infection was._

The girl was still thin, but no longer as worn, and her infection had cleared up with the help of antibiotics.

Over the past few weeks, Talia had begun showing a sense of humor, which, while harsh and cynical, was at least something.

Cal sat awkwardly at the table. No one spoke.

Talia finished first, and stood up, leaving without a word. Greez watched her depart, and sighed.

“Well, that’s a first.”

“What do you mean?” Cal asked, wondering if Talia was trying to avoid him for some reason.

“She usually doesn’t eat with us. Prefers to be alone.”

  
  


Talia paced beside her bunk, raising her head as Cal walked in. They stood for a moment, facing each other.

_Perhaps the last of their kind._

The thought made her heart bleed.

“I never met another one. Who survived the fall.” The boy said, breaking the awkward silence.

“Neither did I. I was beginning to think there weren’t any.” She admitted. 

“I’m glad to meet you.” Cal said.

Talia offered a small smile. “This is awkward. I don’t know what to say. Talking about the past is too painful.”

“Yeah.” Cal nodded. Then, “Never seen a teenager with white hair before.”

“Aside from in the mirror, neither have I.” Talia answered. “I was born with it.”

“It, uh, it suits you.” 

“Thanks?” Talia said, unsure if that was a good thing.

Talia’s brilliant blue eyes met his.

“So you survived Second Sister. That’s an impressive feat.” She noted. Then, “Can I see your lightsaber?”

Cal pulled the weapon from his belt, held it out to show her. She studied it for a moment.

“Can I see yours?” Cal asked, breaking the silence.

Talia nodded, and reached into the pack by her bunk.

The hilt she pulled out was sleek, bronze in color, with a black emitter and pommel.

When she turned it on, the blade was orange.

She deactivated the weapon, and placed the hilt back in her bag.

“I never saw an orange one before.” Cal said. “Not in person.”

Talia shrugged. “Yeah. I was told that a lot.”

She sat down on her bunk, and looked up at him.

“I’m going to get some rest now. Goodnight.” She said, and turned away.


End file.
